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Comic Relief founder Sir Lenny Henry will carry the prestigious Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton as part of its 90,000-mile journey around all 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth.
Sir Lenny will run with the Baton through Birmingham, the host city of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games this summer. His journey through Victoria Square on the evening of July 27 toward the end of its 294-day journey on the eve of the highly anticipated Commonwealth Games kicking off. The Queen’s Baton Relay will come to a close the following day at the Opening Ceremony.
Sir Lenny was invited to be a Batonbearer to celebrate Sport Relief being an official charity partner of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Comic Relief launched the first ever Sport Relief 20 years ago and thanks to the great British public, has raised an incredible £419million so far to help change lives in the UK and around the world.
Sir Lenny said: “The chance to carry (via jogging and walking!) the Queen’s Baton on the final leg of its journey fills me with massive pride, especially when I think of how far it’s travelled over the past nine months.”
He added: “It has crossed land, sea and air to cover every corner of the Commonwealth, including my parent’s home of Jamaica, and all the way to Birmingham City Centre (just down the road from Dudley where I got my first humungous break); and carried all the way by inspirational individuals whose stories have blown me away. Hats off to everyone who has taken part!”
Sport Relief is an official charity partner of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, alongside United By 2022 and the Commonwealth Sport Foundation, and hopes to raise money this summer to help change lives for the better. Money raised will go towards important causes including tackling inequality, improving mental health and helping young people survive and thrive.
The Prince of Wales will deliver a speech during the Opening Ceremony, taking place at the newly redeveloped Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, during which His Royal Highness will read The Queen’s message for the Commonwealth Games. The Queen’s message was placed into the Commonwealth Games Baton by her Majesty on October 7 2021 at Buckingham Palace. The Games will be the biggest sporting event to be held in the UK since London 2012, and will see athletes from across the Commonwealth compete in 19 sports and eight Para-sports.
To find out how you can get involved in Sport Relief this summer, visit: comicrelief.com/sportrelief
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• Selection of images of Sir Lenny Henry are available on request
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Senior Media Officer Antonia Paget
A.paget@comicrelief.com
07981 923879
media@comicrelief.com
Out of hours 07984 510 473
www.comicrelief.com/media-centre
Out of hours enquiries: 07984 510 473
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Sport Relief
Sport Relief is a year-round fundraising campaign run by the charity, Comic Relief.
Sport Relief harnesses the power of sport and entertainment to bring people together across the UK, to get active, have fun and raise life-changing funds. Since launching in 2002, Sport Relief has raised £419 million so far, thanks to the generous British public, and supported millions of lives in the UK and around the world.
This year, Sport Relief is teaming up with United By 2022 and the Commonwealth Sport Foundation to celebrate an incredible summer of sport as the official charity partners of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Together we hope to inspire the nation through a shared love of sport, to use this momentous sporting event as an opportunity to raise money to change lives for the better. The partnership aims to raise money to take on important issues, including tackling inequality, improving mental health and helping young people to survive and thrive in Birmingham, across the UK, around the Commonwealth and beyond.
Sport Relief is an initiative of Comic Relief. For more information about Sport Relief, please visit https://www.comicrelief.com/sportrelief
Instagram: @ComicRelief |Twitter: @ComicRelief | Facebook: @ComicRelief | Tik Tok: @ComicRelief
About Comic Relief
Comic Relief raises money to support people living incredibly tough lives in the UK and around the world. Through humour and stories of hope, we have shown that people can make a massive difference.
Comic Relief believes that those who are closest to the issues have the best solutions, and so works with organisations and people with direct experience of these challenges. We fund hundreds of amazing organisations who support the most vulnerable people and communities in society. This includes vulnerable children and young people, people who are homeless or who have been forced to flee their homes, women and families at risk of domestic abuse and those struggling with mental health problems.
For information about Comic Relief and the work it carries out, please visit www.comicrelief.com
Comic Relief, which is the operating name of Charity Projects, is a registered charity 326568 (England/Wales); SC039730 (Scotland).
About Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which will be held from 28 July until 8 August 2022, will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to put the city, the region and its people on the global stage.
The Games is already proving to be a catalyst for transformation across the West Midlands, attracting new investment and funding, creating jobs and apprenticeships for local people and new opportunities for local businesses, as well as accelerating projects that will ensure the region is ready to host a fantastic sports and cultural celebration. Birmingham 2022 will be the Games for everyone, bringing people together from across Birmingham and the region, to provide a warm welcome to millions of visitors during the summer of 2022.
Find out more at www.birmingham2022.com
Birmingham 2022 Charity Partners – www.birmingham2022.com/charity-partners Facebook: @Birmingham2022 | Twitter: @birminghamcg22 | Instagram: @birminghamcg22
About the Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay
Birmingham 2022 is hosting the 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay – a journey which brings together and celebrates communities in every corner of the Commonwealth ahead of Birmingham 2022.
The Baton has already begun its epic journey across the Commonwealth, where it will have visited Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean, and the Americas, it will return to England in July 2022 for the final countdown to the Commonwealth Games.
The Queen’s Baton will travel around England for 25 days, before the Relay officially ends at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games on 28 July 2022. The Queen’s Baton Relay is a Games tradition that celebrates, connects, and excites communities from across Commonwealth during the build up to the Games.
